20 QUESTIONS YOU CAN USE TO AUDIT PERSONAL ENERGY

Big thank you to Dan Rockwell for this post.  These questions are so valuable!

“Being an energizer is 4X more important than your title, position in a hierarchy, position in an influence network, or your position in an information network.” Kim Cameron

Teams with one deadbeat suffer a performance disadvantage of 30 to 40 percent compared to teams that have no bad apples. Good Boss Bad Boss

Personal energy is more important than skill, talent, or resources. High talent and low energy disappoint. Low energy people earn low-level opportunities.

20 questions to audit personal energy:

(Ask team members to assess their ability to manage personal energy. Use a 1 to 10 scale.)

1. I know my most productive time of day.
2. I typically stay on task until I need a break.
3. I regularly express gratitude.
4. I feel my boss seeks my best interest.
5. I take breaks during the day.
6. I eat healthy food.
7. I have a consistent bedtime.
8. I know what today’s priority is.
9. I frequently do things I love to do.
10. I feel like I’m heading in a good direction as a person/employee.
11. I usually get the day’s work done.
12. I understand and embrace organizational purpose.
13. I use my strengths every day at work.
14. I feel like I make a meaningful contribution every day.
15. My work aligns with my values.
16. I feel like my boss listens to me.
17. I enjoy a hobby.
18. I exercise regularly.
19. I feel like I’m growing as a person.
20. I hang out with fellow employees outside of work hours.

Questions for discussion:

1. What did you learn after completing your energy audit?
2. Which items most influence your energy in a positive way? Negative way?
3. How might you better manage personal energy?
4. What’s one thing I could do to better fuel your energy?

Successful leaders help people manage personal energy.

What questions would you add to the above personal energy audit?

Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time

HOW BUSY MANAGERS PRACTICE PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT

A challenging post by Dan Rockwell...... Great advice for all leaders!

You hire the best, but the best can always get better. All organisations are in the people development business.  People development is the heart of organisational development.

People development is:

1. Equipping people to do things without you.
2. Cheering and affirming more than correcting.
3. Respecting and maximizing potential.

10 reasons busy managers care about people development:

1. Values. People matter.
2. Multiplication. Develop people who can develop people.
3. Capacity. Expand contribution.
4. Efficiency. Develop people to the place where they need little oversight.
5. Agility. Keep up with changing environments and new technology.
6. Aspiration. Good people care about personal development. Provide development opportunities or they will go where they can get it.
7. Potential. Bring out untapped potential. The person you hired can contribute more than you expected.
8. Productivity. Everyone feels good when they’re productive.
9. Fulfillment. It feels good to help someone make greater contribution. You have a problem  if holding people down is enjoyable.
10. Innovation. Learning enables innovation.

Giving direction as a form of people development!

1. Competence and giving direction

Giving direction is development when you speak to ignorance, inexperience, or lack of skill.

Over-direction produces lack of initiative. Why bother taking initiative if you’re going to tell everyone how to do their job.

You prolong incompetence when you give unnecessary direction to competent people.

2. Goal of giving direction

Giving direction is development when the goal is to stop giving direction. 

You might feel important when you give direction, but you’re successful when you don’t have to.

Questions to ask yourself 

1. How can you work yourself out of some aspects of day-to-day work?
2. How can you work yourself out of repetitive tasks?
3. How can you do things that can be done only by you?
4. How can you become the dumbest person in the room?

How might busy managers practice people development?